Kurds to push for federal system in post-Assad Syria

Syrian Kurds are set to demand a federal system in post-Assad Syria that would allow regional autonomy and security forces, a senior Kurdish official has told Reuters, doubling down on a decentralised vision opposed by interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.

The demand for federal rule has gathered momentum as alarm spread through Syria’s minorities over last month’s mass killings of Alawites, while Kurdish groups have accused Al-Sharaa and his Islamist group of setting the wrong course for the new Syria and monopolising power.

Rival Syrian Kurdish parties, including the dominant faction in the Kurdish-run north east, agreed on a common political vision — including federalism — last month, explained Kurdish sources. They have yet to unveil it officially.

Kurdish-led groups took control of roughly a quarter of Syrian territory during the 14-year civil war.

The Syrian Democratic Forces, for example, are backed by the US and last month signed a deal with Damascus on merging Kurdish-led governing bodies and security forces with the central government.

While committed to that deal, Kurdish officials have objected to the way Syria’s governing Islamists are shaping the transition from Bashar Al-Assad’s rule, claiming that they are failing to respect Syria’s diversity despite promises of inclusivity.

Badran Jia Kurd, a senior official in the Kurdish-led administration, told Reuters that all Kurdish factions had agreed on a “common political vision” which emphasises the need for “a federal, pluralistic, democratic parliamentary system.”

His written statements in response to questions from Reuters mark the first time an official from the Kurdish-led administration has confirmed the federalism goal since the Kurdish parties agreed on it last month. The administration has for years steered clear of the word “federalism” in describing its goals, instead calling for decentralisation. Syria’s Kurds say that their goal is autonomy within Syria, not independence.

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Al-Sharaa has declared his opposition to a federal system, telling The Economist in January that it does not have popular acceptance and is not in Syria’s best interests.

The Kurds are mainly Sunni Muslims and speak a language related to Farsi. They live mostly in a mountainous region straddling the borders of Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.

Iraqi Kurds have their own parliament, government and security forces.

According to Jia Kurd, the fundamental issue for Syria is “to preserve the administrative, political, and cultural specificity of each region” which would require “local legislative councils within the region, executive bodies to manage the region’s affairs, and internal security forces affiliated with them.” This should be set out in Syria’s constitutional framework, he added.

Neighbouring Turkey, an ally of Al-Sharaa, sees Syria’s main Kurdish group, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and its affiliates as a security threat because of its links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which, until a recently-declared ceasefire, fought a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.

Last month’s meeting brought the PYD together with the Kurdish National Council (ENKS), a rival Syrian Kurdish group established with backing from one of Iraq’s main Kurdish parties, the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) led by the Barzani family. The KDP has good ties with Turkey.

ENKS leader Suleiman Oso said that he expects the joint Kurdish vision to be announced at a conference by the end of April.

He explained that developments in Syria since Assad’s ouster in December had led many Syrians to see the federal system as the “optimal solution”. He cited attacks on Alawites, resistance to central rule within the Druze minority, and the new government’s constitutional declaration, which the Kurdish-led administration said was at odds with Syria’s diversity.

Hundreds of Alawites were killed in western Syria in March in revenge attacks which began after Islamist-led authorities said that their security forces came under attack by militants loyal to Assad, an Alawite. Al-Sharaa, an Al-Qaeda leader before he cut ties to the group in 2016, has said that those responsible will be punished, including his own allies if necessary.

The constitutional declaration gave him broad powers, enshrined Islamic law as the main source of legislation, and declared Arabic to be Syria’s official language, but there was no mention of Kurdish.

“We believe that the optimal solution to preserve Syria’s unity is a federal system, as Syria is a country of multiple ethnicities, religions and sects,” said Oso. “When we go to Damascus, we will certainly present our views and demands.”

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